Means for dispensing liquids



Patented May 19, 1953 VUNITED STATES P'Ars T oi-"Fics MEANS FOR DISPENSING LIQUIDS Charles Lewis Gebauer, Shaker Heights, and

Thomas Shimrock, Cleveland, Ohio; said Shimrock assignor to said Gebauer Application August 3, 1948, Serial No. 42,325

1 Claim. 01. 215-73) This invention relates to means for dispensing liquids having low boiling points by use of the vapor pressures of such liquids when partially confined in containers receiving the liquids. Means of this type is shown and covered by my Patent 2,313,930, issued March 16, 1943. In structures of this type the room temperature or warmth of the hand applied to a receptacle containing the liquid will cause appreciable boiling of the liquid to create vapor pressures in the container which can be used to eject, forcibly, fluid from the container. The principal use of my invention relates to the dispensing of ethyl chloride either alone or in combination with other liquids, although the devices can, of course, be used in dispensing other similar materials.

The general object of the present invention is to form an eiiective, efficient seal on devices of the type referred to above.

Another object of the invention is to provide a useful, inexpensive seal disc that is particularly suited for use with corks used in devices of the class referred to herein above.

Another object of the invention is to provide expanding room for the sealing disc in devices for dispensing low boiling point liquids.

Yet another object of the invention is to increase the sealing action in the device of the class described above when vapors from the dispensed liquid contact a sealing disc which normally is out of contact with the dispensed liquid.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent as the specification proceeds.

Reference should now be had to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation partly in section through means embodying the principles of the invention; I

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are corresponding views, similar to Figs. 1 and 2, of a modification of the invention.

Attention is now directed to the details of the structure shown in the drawing, and in this instance, a glass bottle I is provided for retaining the ethyl chloride or other material to be dispensed in the device of the invention. The bottle I usually has a discharge neck 2 of reduced area provided at the upper end of the bottle I and integral threads 3 are formed on the outer surface of this neck 2. Liquid, and vapor, contained in the bottle I are primarily retained therein by means of resilient material such as cork 4 which is tightly positioned in the discharge neck 2 and receives a discharge tube 5 therein. Usually this tube 5 is formed from glass and has a capillary opening therein. Normally this discharge tube 5 will not extend down into the liquid retained in the bottle I but, if desired, it may be extended into the liquid to aid in discharging liquid from the bottle. Inasmuch as the cork 4 cannot be extremely accurately sized for positioning in the bottle I and for receipt of the tube 5, frequently vapors from the liquid in the bottle I will seep along the margins of the cork 4, and if not otherwise confined, escape from the bottle.

In order to form atight; effective seal for the bottle I, a sealing disc 6, is positioned over the mouth thereof; This sealing disc 8 normally is formed from rubber or other equivalent material and it is adapted to have the discharge tube 5 protrude therethrough. Sealing contact between the sealing disc 6 and the discharge tube 5 is facilitated by the formation of a boss 1 on the outer surface of the disc 6 in the center portion thereof through which the tube 5 extends. The sealing disc 6 is forced down into tight engagement with the mouth of the bottle I by means of an end cap 8 which has threads cut into an enlarged end portion 9 thereof so that the end portion 9 can bescrewed into engagement with the threads 3 on the bottle. The end cap 8 is provided with a downwardly-directed rib III that is formed on the inner sealing surface of the end cap 8 and extends therearound for engagement with the annular portion of the sealing disk '6 to force it into sealing association with the mouth of the bottle. The end cap 8 has a bore II formed therein through which the discharge tube 5 extends, and a recessed or counterbored section I2 is formed in the end cap 8 intermediate the bore II and the rib III for receipt of the boss I of the sealing disc. In Fig. 1 of the drawing it is shown that the counterbored portion I2 is of the same contour as the boss I but that the counterbored portion is longer than the boss 1. Thus the boss 1, which is of frusto-conical' shape, is adapted to set snugly on a. complementarily shaped surface provided in the end cap. Since it is a characteristic of rubber to be swollen by ethyl chloride and many other fluids that are adapted to be contained in the bottle I, some room must be provided for expansion of the sealing disc 6 when it is contacted by vapors or liquid contained in the bottle I. In this instance, expansion of the boss I will be directed outwardly of the bottle I and such expansion will tend to force the boss I into tighter engagement with the discharge tube 5.

Flow of fluid from the bottle I is controlled in a conventional manner by means of a control lever I3 which is pivotally secured to a suitable bracket member I4 carried on the outer surface of the end cap 8. A rubber sealing member I5 is usually carried by the lever I3 and applied against the end of the discharge tube 5. A spring I6 urges the lever I3 to a normal position wherein the rubber pad I5 is applied over the end 01' the tube 5.

In the modified structure shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a bottle I00 has a cork' IM secured in the end thereof and through which a discharge tube I05 extends. In this instance the sealing disc I06 is secured against the mouth of the bottle I00 by means of an end cap I08. A boss I01 is also provided on the disc I06 and again is of frusto-conical shape. In this instance a counterbored portion II2 is provided in the end cap I08 and is larger than the boss I01 but shaped complementarily thereto. Thus the boss I01 will not be confined against movement outwardly of the bottle I00 and swelling thereof will be unrestricted.

In forming the sealing means of the invention, it will be realized that only a relatively small expansion of the sealing discs will occur even though they have a relatively extensive explosure to the contents of the bottle. Thus only a minimum amount of spacing is required to permit the probable ultimate movement of the sealing discs to occur. When space is not provided for movement of the sealing discs outwardly of the container, then the discs expand inwardly of the container and may eifect undesirable displacement of the sealing corks which form the primary seal for the containers.

While the use of rubber has been specifically mentioned for use in forming the sealing discs, other plastic materials and rubber-like substances may be used, when desired, although various natural and synthetic rubbers have proven very satisfactory for use in devices of the character described.

The flange oi the sealing disc 0 should initially be slightly smaller in diameter than the enlarged section 9 above the threads 3, so as to allow for the expansion of the flange of the sealing disc 6 when the cap 8 is tightened down and the rib I0 forces the flanged section of the sealing disc 6 outwardly.

Further expansion of the disc could easily crack or break the cap, if this additional recess were not provided. Figs; 1 and 3 show that a radial clearance still may exist around the flange of the disc 6 after its assembly in the dispenser unit.

While two complete embodiments of the in- 4 vention have been disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that modification of these particular embodiments of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

A dispensing device for volatile liquids comprising a container for the liquid having a reduced area discharge neck provided therein, a cork tightly positioned in the discharge neck or said container, a capillary tube extending through said cork and protruding axially beyond said neck, a resilient sealing disc positioned on the outer surface of said cork and covering the end of said discharge neck, said disc having a boss formed on only the center portion thereof, and a sealing cap having an axially inwardly directed annular rib thereon, said sealing cap being engaged with said discharge neck with said annular rib forcing an outer edge portion of said disc into engagement with said neck, said boss having said tube extend therethrough, the peripheral edge of said sealing disc being radially spaced from said cap, said boss being of frusto-conical shape and said cap having a recess of complementary shape to but axially longer than said boss formed therein tightly receiving said boss in the axially inner part thereof to provide a. second sealing zone in the device for permitting distortion of said boss with attendant increased axial compression of said boss against said tube, the recess in said cap terminating in a shoulder adjacent the axially outer end of said boss to prevent excessive distortion of said boss, said capillary tube extending beyond the upper portion of said sealing disc to provide additional length of said tube for engagement by said sealing disc when compressed and distorted.

CHARLES LEWIS GEBAUER. THOMAS SHIMROCK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 480,763 Clark Aug. 16, 1892 976,244 Ackerma'n Nov. 22, 1910 1,040,226 Luk'acsevics Oct. 1, 1912 1,061,857 Lukacsev'ics May 13, 1913 2,046,300 Benner June 30, 1936 2,092,596 Ward Sept. 7, 1937 2,313,930 Gebauer Mar. 16, 1943 2,400,231 Gebauer et a1 May 14, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 165,472 Switzerland Nov. 30, 1933 

